The Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship and the Research Chair in Electoral Studies at the Université de Montréal will be hosting a public forum on the Canadian electoral reform. The forum will be hosted in Regina via livestream by the JSGS and University of Regina's Department of Politics and International Studies.
The forum will take the form of a debate between four electoral systems: (1) first-past-the-post (FPTP); (2) alternative vote (AV); (3) mixed-member proportional (MMP); (4) small district open list proportional representation (SOP). Four political scientists will each be debating in favour of one system. The debate will begin with a short overview of the four voting systems by Professor André Blais. Each debater will then be given 12 minutes to make their case. This will be followed by an open debate as well as a question period. In-room and remote audience members will be invited to ask questions through the use of the mobile platform Pigeonhole Live. A link will be given to audience members at the forum.
Using this same interactive mobile platform, the public forum will conclude with a live vote, where audience members will get to vote for their two preferred options.
THE DEBATERS
Peter Loewen will be arguing in favour of First-Past-the-Post (FPTP). Peter Loewen is the Director of the School of Public Policy and Governance and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. He works on questions of elite and citizen behaviour and the role of technology in improving governance and representation. He has published in leading journals of political science, economics, and general science.
Marc André Bodet will be arguing in favor of the alternative vote (AV). Marc André Bodet is an assistant professor of political science at Université Laval where he specializes in Canadian and comparative politics, with a focus on electoral studies. He is also a member of the Chaire de recherche sur la démocratie et les institutions parlementaires.
Laura Stephenson will be arguing in favor of small district open list proportional representation (SOP). Laura Stephenson is an associate professor of political science at the University of Western Ontario where she specializes in political behaviour, both Canadian and comparative. Her research focuses on understanding how institutions and context influence attitudes, electoral preferences and engagement with politics.
Sven-Oliver Proksch will be arguing in favor of mixed member proportional (MMP). Sven-Oliver Proksch is an associate professor at the department of political science at McGill University. His research interests include political representation, democratic political institutions, party politics, parliamentary debates, political text analysis, and European politics.
Complete event details are available here: http://csdc-cecd.ca/events/public-forum-electoral-reform/
Event Details
- When:
- Time:
- 05:30 PM - 07:30 PM CST
- Location:
- Room 239.1, 2 Research Drive, University of Regina
- File:
- Event Communiqué
